February 15, 2013

Copyright 1982 by
Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

or

“Scripture taken from
KJ3 Literal Translation Bible, First Edition,

Copyright 2006-2010

Used by permission of
the copyright holder, Mary V. Green”

*All Scripture texts
taken from NKJV except where otherwise noted.

*Any bold text words
are mine.

Christian friend, are you finding the Christian life
an adventure? Do you look forward to tomorrow with great anticipation? Are you
expectantly waiting to see what God will do in your life, or are you finding
the Christian life a disappointment? Do you find yourself utterly defeated day
by day, having a mountain top experience one day, and the next you find
yourself in the depths of the valley?

If the
latter is true in your life, then know that God has something better in mind
for you. It is not His plan for you to wander around in the wilderness of
defeat and discouragement. There is a life of victory and of power available to
you and for all of God’s children. This is the message of hope we desire to
share with you.

There
are two reasons that this type of experience could be true in your life. The
first may be that you think you are a Christian, but have never actually been
saved in the first place. If you think this could even be the slightest
possibility, then please take the time to read Vic’s testimony at the end
first. If, however, you are absolutely convinced that you are a believer then
continue on reading to find out the other reason that you may be having this
kind of experience in your life…

So many
believers blame other people for the defeat in their lives. In effect they’re
saying, “It is other people that make me feel discouraged. If it were not for them,
I could be living victoriously.” On the other hand they may be saying, “If it
were not for my circumstance, then I, too, could be living a victorious
Christian life. In this way they end up blaming other people and circumstances for
their defeated lives.

In this
the Christian greatly errs. The true reason for your defeated life is that you have
refused to submit to the will of God for your life. You have, in essence, said,
“I know better than God.” Just like in the garden in Eden Adam blamed the woman
- telling God it was the woman He gave
that was the problem! So, ultimately, when you blame other people and
circumstances, you are blaming God for your defeated life. If you truly desire
to experience true, lasting victory in your own life, you must come to terms
with the message that God Almighty has given us in His Holy Word…

“In
everything give thanks;

for
this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

1Thessalonians
5:18 NKJV

The “What” of It

The
“what” of it is spelled out in the words, “In everything give thanks.” This is
a straightforward command that God has every right to expect His children to
comply with. There are many reasons as to why we must obey this significant instruction that God our Father has given to us,
His children, but the following will suffice to make the point.

The
first reason being “…you are not your own…you were bought at a price.”1 Jesus Himself has purchased us with His very own precious blood, and
therefore we belong to Him.

For
example, if you buy an item in a store, the moment you pay for it, it becomes
yours. It is your very own possession, and you may do with the item virtually
anything you choose, because it belongs to you. In the same way, Jesus paid the
purchase price for you and you therefore belong to Him – you are His
possession. Therefore He has every right to command of you whatever He chooses.

The second reason is that we are His special people.
In both Titus 2:14 and 1Peter 2:9 we are called “His own special people.”2 Dear Christian friends, here it is so plainly spelled out, “You are
special to God!” Just like God had put a hedge roundabout Job, so has He done
with you and every other believer.

Thirdly,
we know that God loves you right now. He loves you just the way you are.
Revelation 1:5 makes this very clear in these words, “To the One loving us and
having washed us from our sins by His blood.”3 Indeed, how can we doubt God’s love for us? He who sent His very own
Son to die in our place?

Finally,
God has been, and is even now working in you. For in God’s Word we read, “…it
is God who works in you [plural] both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”4

We see
then, that God bought you and you are His property. We understand too that you
are special to Him, that He loves you, and is at work in your life right now.
So why not simply say, “Lord I thank you for your interest in me, and in this
situation I give you thanks.” Every step you take from day to day you will find
yourself in a new situation. So learn to simply thank Him that He is in
control, and is directing all the affairs of your life. It is in the expression
of “thank you” that we voice our faith in God.

So just
why should we give thanks in every situation? The reason is that we are told in
the Holy Scriptures that “It is the will of God.”1 The most important place a believer can come to is where one submits to
the sovereign will of God.

Jesus
Himself exemplified it in His earthly life. For example, if you look at His
experience in the garden of Gethsemane when all the horror of Calvary’s cross
was yet before Him, He said, “...nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”2

Then
too, look at Paul the apostle. He called himself a “bond-servant”3 or “slave” of God, and as such had no rights whatsoever. Now, Paul
always sought to please His Master in every way. He even went so far as to say
that he was the “prisoner of Christ Jesus,”4 though from our perspective he was sitting in a Roman prison. Yet he
did not consider himself a prisoner of Rome, but of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
was part of God’s plan for his life, and he therefore accepted it as such.

Neither
has God left us without hope during these trying times. For He has promised,
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers,
they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be
burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”5 So we see too, that it is not a matter of if, but “when.” God has
promised, “In the world you will
have tribulation.”6 So don’t think that a strange thing is befalling you
– all of God’s children face trials and tribulations in their lives.

We must
understand that God alone knows what is best for us at all times. Sometimes He
does allow a trial to come into our lives. In fact, every child of God
experiences some trials, and it always has a purpose.

Perhaps the
clearest purpose is recorded in these words of God, “My brethren, count it all
joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience. But let patience have its
perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”7 Another is given us in the book of Romans. Here it says, “And not only
that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces
perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.”8 Finally we have this promise, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation
[testing]; because becoming approved, he will receive the crown of life which
the Lord promised to the ones loving
Him.”9 So we see that after we endure the trials in our
lives, there is a reward awaiting us. Indeed, then, we can conclude with Paul
the apostle’s words in saying, “For our affliction, which is but for a moment,
is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory…”10

We
find, that the “where” of it is found in this phrase, “The will of God in Christ Jesus.”1

Let us
then draw your attention to some very precious and important truths about you
as a believer.

The first
precious truth is that your salvation
is “in Christ”, and in Him alone. “…for there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.”2

The next
precious truth is that your identity
is “in Christ”, and in Him alone. It is by His name we are called Christians.
It is because of Him that we are called believers, saints, and so on.

The third
precious truth is our security that
we find in Him alone. It is He who upholds all things by the Word of His power.
It is He who lives forever, making intercession on our behalf. As well, He has
given us eternal life. For it is written, “And I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.”3 We can count on Him, because He always speaks the truth. He is same
yesterday, today, and forever.

The
final precious truth is that our complete
satisfaction is found “in Christ”, and in Him alone. For we have tried the
pleasures of sin and have found to be true what the Scriptures say they are
only for “temporary,”4 they do not last. As well, we have tried the
pleasures of the world and found them to be a disappointment. God made us in
such a way that true satisfaction can only be found in Christ alone.

Listen
now to this account of a Samaritan woman who found true satisfaction in what
Christ Jesus offered her. “Jesus answered and said to her, Everyone drinking of
this water [well water] will thirst again; but whoever may drink of the water
which I will give him will not thirst, not ever! But the water which I will give
to him will become a fountain of water in him, springing up into everlasting
life.” Talk about satisfying! No wonder the woman responded by saying, “Sir,
give me this water, that I may not thirst…”5

To whom
then do these words “to you” apply? I am certain that you would agree that they
apply to every child of God. Also, we find that the “you” is in the plural and
therefore makes this command inclusive of every child of God – including you!

O
Christian friend, have we not seen that we are commanded to be thankful? O then
how it must grieve the very heart of God when we grumble and complain! Listen
then to what God has said right after these words: “…it is God who works in you
both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” It says, “Do all things without
complaining and disputing.”1 Why? Because,
when we complain, we are essentially telling God that we do not agree with what
He is doing in our lives!

Just as
Adam and Eve believed Satan’s lie in the garden and ate the forbidden fruit, so
grumbling is believing Satan’s lie. For both say one thing – I don’t trust God,
and I think I know better than Him!

O, you who call yourselves Christians, how God-honoring
it would be if you would stop complaining about what He is doing in your life,
and would simply begin to thank Him! Then, and only then, would you experience
the peace and “rest” in your life! Yes, you may have the “rest” of salvation,
but this will bring you the “rest” in your daily life! Then you will have joy
unspeakable!

If we
would only start our day with, “Thank You, Lord, for what You are going to do
in my life today,” what a difference it would make! Not only this, but when you
are faced with a situation, simply say, “Lord, in this situation I give You
thanks.” Then you will find that you will have a love for people that you have
never before experienced – even for difficult people! You will find your
attitude towards people completely changed. When you have truly understood and
accepted these things, then you will find your Christian life to be the
exciting adventure that God intended it to be!

1. Philippians 2:14

Victor Reimer and Roy Byman

Vic’s Testimony

I would like to take the time to give my testimony
here, especially for those of you who consider yourselves religious.

How I Came To Be a Believer

Now it
may be that you will go, “oh sigh,” when you start reading my testimony, “here
goes another boring testimony” – but wait! Listen…

I was
born into a very religious home. By most standards, it would have been called a
“Christian home.” Thus, being a “Christian home”, we would of course go to
church, and I to Sunday School in my childhood years. The church we attended
was a typical Evangelical Church.

Then it
happened. Someplace around the age of five the church got the Sunday School
together for a film. In the end we were told something like, “If you want to go
to Heaven, then you must invite Jesus into your heart.” Well, of course I
wanted to go to Heaven! So, without telling a soul, I went home and did just
that. From that day on I called myself a Christian.

For the
next five or so years, I don’t think I gave any thought to the things called
“spiritual.” I just lived a kid’s life, having fun. However, it was keenly
impressed upon me that I should read my Bible and pray as I got older. So night
after night I would pray and read my Bible.

Once I
got to my teen years things really started to change. Some would have said,
“You’re merely going through a typical teen’s rebellious time in your life.”
However, I felt convicted for the lifestyle I was living in. No, I wasn’t
caught up in gangs or anything like that, but I felt that I was a sinner just
the same. I felt the separation between me and God. I knew something was wrong,
I just didn’t know what.

I began
to live out some very frustrating years. It was the beginning of trying to live
the Christian life. I knew the things I should, and should not, be doing. Yet I
continued to be a failure, I felt, in the eyes of God. I could fool those
around me for the most part, but I knew I couldn’t fool God.

I was
trying to live the Christian life by living in a self-imposed set of do’s and
don’ts. I would read my Bible and pray every day. I would attend church
regularly. I even went on a number of short-term mission trips overseas. Yet,
despite all these things, I always had a fear of God’s judgment. I frequently
felt guilty. I would go through a constant cycle of sinning and confession. I
always felt uncertain about my salvation, and would repeatedly invite Jesus
into my heart. Yet nothing changed.

Finally
things became clear to me. I was reading a book called, “The Stranger on the
Road to Emmaus,” written by John R. Cross. In this book he explained the core
message of the Bible from beginning to end. It was then that the puzzle pieces
began to fall into their proper place. It was then that it suddenly dawned on
me – I was not saved! It shook me to the core. It was then that I realized that if I had stayed on the course I had
been walking – I would have ended up in Hell, thinking that I had been a true
born-again Christian. What I now know, is that I had merely been religious.
I had believed Satan’s lie – his counterfeit.

I had
believed the very same lie that Adam and Eve had believed in the garden. They,
too, believed Satan’s lie, that they could eat of the “Tree of Knowing Right
from Wrong,” and live forever under their own effort. So I found that religion
tells you the do’s and the don’ts, but it gives you no strength to live by them
– it leaves you empty, and without hope. In fact, it leaves you feeling like a
complete failure, and that is exactly what Satan is after. For his hope is that
you will then ditch God and anything else to do with Christianity. And if he
can’t convince you of this, then to at least keep you duped that your religious
ways will save you. Either way Satan wants to deceive you. In reality, Satan is
the god of religion. That is what Satan wanted to be after all, wasn’t it? Yes,
he aspired to be God, and to rule as God. That is still his plan today, and
sadly he is deceiving billions of people with his lies. People, like I was, are
fooled by his appearance as “an angel of light.” That’s right, Satan does not
appear in his cartoon attire – that too is a cleverly disguised tactic of his.
The reality is that he masquerades as an angel of light. More accurately we
might say, that Satan’s attire is one with a suit, tie, and maybe a clerical
collar – don’t be fooled! He is clever, imitating the truth as closely as
possible, seeking to deceive as many as possible.

Now, of
course, not only did I come to see that I was still a helplessly lost sinner on
the way to Hell, but I also came to see the one and only way to be saved.

I came
to see that there was absolutely nothing on my part that could save me. That is,
there was no effort, or trying, on my part, that could save. I saw that
religion was Satan’s great scam. The truth was that Jesus had already done
everything. The only thing left on my side was to believe that to be true. This
took my eyes off of myself, and caused me to look to Jesus. Jesus is my Savior.
I am not my own savior. For how could one possibly save oneself? How could one
possibly save oneself, who is up to their armpits in quicksand? No, we need
outside help, but we do need to trust the one who has come to save us. Someone
might say, “Well, how much faith does it take to be saved?” I say, “How much
faith would it take to let someone rescue you from the quicksand?”

God is
very plain in His Word that we are all sinners. Everyone is lost, and on the
way to Hell. You know very well that everyone sins, and you know, too, that
you’re not an exception. God is also equally plain that “The wages of sin is
death.” It is quite simple then – nothing but death would suffice as punishment for my sin. No amount of praying, confessing my sins, doing penance,
doing good, inviting Christ into my heart, would suffice – no, someone must
die. For “without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon] of sin.” So, either
it would be I who must die (which would mean that after my physical death I
would ultimately go to the Lake of Fire, and thus be eternally separated from
God), or someone innocent would have to take my place.

This is
where the good news comes in. Jesus was my substitute – it was He who died in
my place! Jesus took upon Himself all of my sin - past, and present, and
future. Oh, what joy filled my life! Just to know that all my sins had been
forgiven, because Jesus Christ had been punished for every one of them. In turn
He gave me His righteousness. It was because of this transaction that I can now
be innocent before Him. What rest! What joy! What peace! I knew I had been
changed from a sinner to a saint. All because of what Jesus did for me.

Understand
then, that just as Jesus Christ was punished for all my sin, so He was punished
for all your sin. All that is left is for you to believe this to be true. Do
you believe Jesus Christ to be your Savior? Do you believe that He rose from
among the dead like He said?

I
implore you; it is a miserable, miserable thing to try to live like a Christian
when you’re not one. It is like a caterpillar trying to fly. It just can’t. It
must go through metamorphosis, and then, being a butterfly, it can fly! Oh,
look to Jesus and live! Stop thinking you know better than God! Jesus completed
the work on Calvary’s cross for you. It was for you that He hung upon that
cursed tree! Your every sin on Him was laid. He was punished because of your
sins! Why did He do this? He did it because He loves you, and wants you to be
free from the burden of sin. He yearns for you to accept His free offer of
salvation.

*Please contact me if you’re interested in knowing
more. I would be most glad to take you through “The Stranger on the Road to
Emmaus” Bible study. It takes only about 11 hours to go through, and it will
change your life.

How I Found Contentment

In My Christian Life

One
thing is certain about the Christian life, and that is that you will have
trials and tribulations in this life. Perhaps you are a young believer. If so,
let me warn you that this will be true in your life as well. It will happen. My
life, I have to say, was no exception.

I would
grumble about this that and the other thing. Only during brief good times would
the grumbling cease. I would complain about weather that I didn’t like. I would
complain about people that rubbed me the wrong way, or that I thought were
living differently than I would like them to. I would gripe about circumstances
I didn’t like. I didn’t think this attitude was a big deal. I thought I had the
right to complain about these things. After all wasn’t I owed better? Shouldn’t
things be fair?

What I
didn’t realize however, is that I was complaining about God! This really began
to change my thinking about the whole thing. I realized I was being just like the
Israelites that wandered in the desert, the ones whom God had forbidden to
enter the bountiful land. I realized that by wanting better circumstances in my
life, I actually wanted the circumstances other people had. Then it dawned on
me that the Bible calls these things coveting, envying and jealousy! I realized
these things were, in reality, some pretty awful sins!

At the
same time too, Satan was distracting me with the things of the world. He was
trying to lure me away from God’s will for my life by the things of the world.
Not bad things per se, but by the things appearing “innocent.”

Don’t
be fooled, Satan will do absolutely anything to get you to forget about God.
He’ll do anything to cause you to doubt that God cares about you. Anything to
get you out of God’s will for your life. Satan would much rather that you have
him as your god and follow his will for your life!

Looking
at Paul the apostle for a moment now we see that he was most decisively saved,
and yet he says that he “learned to
be content” in every situation. This
is key. We must learn to be content no matter what we have or don’t have. I
began to realize that I wasn’t content. I wanted something more than I had. I
wanted my hard times to end. I wanted an easier life. I wanted what others had.
In reality what I was saying is, “God you gypped me!”

I
learned too, that it is only under trial that one matures as a believer. I
found that the miserable people and circumstances in my life acted like
sandpaper on a carving. Yes, it is a rough experience, but it is only in this
way that the imperfections are removed, and a beautiful creation is revealed.
In this case the creator is none other than God Himself! So then we see that
God uses people and circumstances that may not be pleasant to mold and shape us
into mature Christians.

At the
same time I realized that God was testing me through these trials, to see
whether I would trust Him or not. The simple truth is that God wanted to take
me into the “bountiful land” of Canaan, but I doubted what He was doing in my
life. God didn’t want me to live a life of misery. He desired to take me into
the “bountiful land” – a land of rest and joy – a “fruitful land”. Now I’m not
speaking as to salvation, I’m talking life from day to day! God wanted me to
trust Him even in the midst of my hard times.

Look at
the people in the Bible. Did they trust God in the midst of trial? Think of
Paul the apostle.He prayed three times
that the “thorn in the flesh” would be taken away, and God said, “My grace is
sufficient for you.” What about Caleb and Joshua who were in the same
circumstance as the rest of the Israelites? What about Daniel, who praised God
while knowing the plot against him? What about Abraham, as he was called by God
to give up his son whom the promise of God was through? What about Esther and
Haman’s plot to kill the Jews? The list could be long, and the examples
lengthy, but the point is, these people all trusted God as they went through
various ordeals of life.

Satan
would have liked for me to be dissatisfied with what God had given me in this
life, and to want more, to want better. Truly, Satan has not changed his
tactics. For in the same way, he tempted Eve by causing her to doubt God’s love
for her; to cause her to think that God was withholding something more when, in
fact, God had blessed them bountifully! The truth was that they were already in
the “bountiful land”! So, when I came to understand that God had my good in
mind, that He loved me, that I was being ungrateful towards Him and that I
wasn’t trusting Him, then I began to give Him thanks for all the circumstances
in my life, whether difficult or not. Why? I now knew that He was using them to
help me, not to hinder me. I knew too, that God was allowing every one of these
situations in my life. For Satan cannot do one thing beyond what God allows. That is clearly demonstrated in the story of
Job.

Now I
can give thanks to God, despite the challenges that come my way. I can now accept my circumstances because I know that they are God’s will for
my life and that they are for my good. I can rejoice, because His will is being worked out in my life. I most
gladly serve Him as a slave. For what better Master could one desire, than He
who sent His only begotten Son to die in our stead? How marvelous to have Him
in control of my life!

Yes,
God desires that you trust Him too. He yearns for you to accept your
circumstances. Will you trust Him with your daily life? Will you accept your
circumstances as God’s will for you? I hope you do, because it is a life of
rejoicing and rest. Come - come into the “bountiful land” God has prepared for
you! It is a “fruitful land”!